
Cony coach John Dennett said he does not like the new classification proposal that would move a number of the Rams’ Class A rivals to Class AA. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel
As it tends to do every cycle, basketball classification has become a topic of debate in Maine, with reactions both positive and negative.
Last week the Maine Principals’ Association classification committee reviewed a proposal by the basketball committee that would keep the current five-class system, but nearly double the amount of teams in Class AA — the state’s largest enrollment class — to 28 teams. It would also limit Class D — the state’s lowest enrollment class — to schools with 100 students or lower.
“Really, the adjustment has been (changing) D to under 100. That has a ripple effect all the way through. And we heard from the AA schools that they wanted more teams in their league,” said Mike Bisson, assistant executive director of the MPA.
Doubling Class AA also impacts Classes A, B and C. In central Maine, Skowhegan, Mt. Blue, Messalonskee and Brewer would be among the teams moving up from Class A North to Class AA North.
The change has brought differing opinions from coaches of girls basketball teams that would remain in Class A.
“My athletic director (T.J. Maines) asked me my opinion on it. I’m not for any of it,” Cony coach John Dennett said. “I like the old-school Cony, Skowhegan, Messalonskee, Brewer, just the old-school Pine Tree Conference teams. I know they’re trying to help. Bangor has it worse than anyone else because they’re AA and the closest school they’ve got is Lewiston; everything else is a million miles away.
“But every two years they try to change this, try to change that. I don’t know what their goal is in the long run. No one is ever going to be happy.”
Britney Gero, the coach at Gardiner, which has an enrollment of 583, likes the changes.
“Right now we’re the bottom of A (in enrollment),” Gero said. “We thought we would go B next year, before this came out. I like it. It puts us in the top of Class A, numbers-wise. Honestly, in the big picture of things, it makes more sense regionally, the way they have it mapped out. Looking at A North, Presque Isle is probably the only (anomaly).”
The proposal would also affect the Mountain Valley Conference, mostly made up of Class C South schools. Hall-Dale, Dirigo and Winthrop would make the jump to Class B South, joining fellow MVC schools Oak Hill, Spruce Mountain, Mountain Valley and Maranacook, which already play in the region.
“It works for AA and it works for D, and then you get thrown into the pot,” Winthrop coach John Baehr said. “We’re losing kids to other schools, charter schools. My daughter’s class, the freshman class, was 80 kids when they were in fourth or fifth grade. There’s 60 (now). We’re losing kids every step of the way. … It goes in waves, but we’re not getting those 70 or 80 (students) per class.
“I’m not a big fan (of the proposal) at all. They need to tweak it a little bit here and there. For us to play a Maranacook, at 450 (students) and we’re at 220, or less, (is tough). … I thought we’d always be (Class) C, but we’ve always felt that would always be (at the perfect number) for C, not the high, not the low, but right in the middle.”
The proposal, not yet voted on, will be discussed again at the next classification committee meeting Feb. 11.
Wolverines savor win
When Wiscasset hit the floor Monday, it no longer had to worry about when it would earn its next win.
The Wolverines (1-8), a Class D South program, snapped a 122-game losing streak when they beat Islesboro 24-21 on Jan. 10. A pair of free throws by Xoe Morse with less than a minute to play sealed the victory. Wiscasset hadn’t had a win since the 2016 season.
“For the girls, it was great. They have worked so hard for this and have overcome a lot of hardships,” said first-year coach Daniel Wall. “There’s never been a feeder program for these kids. … Now that the streak is over, the girls went, ‘We did it. We’re happy. But now it’s time to go to work. Now, no one can talk about us anymore and we can go to work.’ They’re really excited. They keep pushing and driving, and they’re hoping to pick up another one before we’re done (for the season).”
The trip to nab their first win was no small feat. The Wolverines had to travel by ferry to get to Islesboro, were backed in the stands by only the school’s boys basketball team, which played immediately following the victory.
“With less than a minute left (in the game), I think it was a terrifying feeling for most,” Wall said. “I told them (during a timeout), ‘Look, remember we talked about digging deep.’ Once it was over, there was nothing but tears. Everyone was so happy. I’ve never seen so many kids be so happy.”
The Wolverines are not a big team, with an eight-player roster that includes four sophomores. Wall has credited the team for its hard work, and for hitting one of its season goals.
“When I first got together with these kids, there were two things they wanted to do,” Wall said. “They wanted a crowd to watch them play, which I thought said a lot about the kids. They hadn’t even talked about winning yet. The second (goal) was, ‘We want to win a basketball game.’ They (won) like champions. They’ve been like, ‘OK, we’ve won, and now it’s on to the next one.'”
On the line
The Biddeford girls are in a good spot in Class B South with a 10-4 record and third-place ranking in the Heal point standings, but coach Jeannine Paradis has seen an issue pop up in losses that she wants the Tigers to address quickly.

Biddeford coach Jeannine Paradis said the Tigers need to do a better job making foul shots after going 4 of 13 in a loss to Marshwood on Friday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
“We still need to stop putting teams on the foul line,” she said after a 53-50 setback to Marshwood on Friday. “And we need to get to the foul line — and once we get to the foul line, we need to convert. In our three losses, teams beat us on the foul line, and I think it was the same tonight as well.”
Sure enough, the Hawks shot 12 of 16 from the line while the Tigers went 4 of 13, costing them nine points in a game that came down to the final possession.
“We’ve got to really work on that,” said Paradis, whose young team had three freshmen on the floor in the final minute. “We’ve got to continue to work hard defensively as we grow and learn, eliminate face cuts, get better positioning rebounding-wise.”
The ‘win’ in Winthrop
Winthrop’s eight-game winning streak was snapped in a 51-41 loss to Madison on Friday. But the Ramblers (10-4) still are second in Class C South, and well on their way to besting last year’s record of 13-7.
“We’re still trying to get better every day and getting ready for February,” Baehr said. “These last three weeks we’ve really had to grind. I think we’ve played nine games in 18 days. We’ve just got to keep getting better every day, keep trying to figure out meshing the younger kids with the older kids (in the lineup).”
The Ramblers have four veteran starters in seniors Madeline Wagner, Ella Rice and Caroline Corgan, and sophomore Kylee Mansir. Baehr said the team is still trying to establish the fifth starting spot, formerly held by the graduated Haley Williams. Baehr also said the starters have taken on new roles. Mansir, a dangerous 3-point shooter, has improved other areas of her offense.
“Meshing that fifth person is harder than people think,” Baehr said. “Just with what Haley Williams did, sneakily she was one of our best rebounders, one of our best defenders. We’re such a team defense(-minded) program, that fifth defender, that fifth person, if they’re not all connected together, you can give up very easy layups. We need to learn and trust that fifth, sixth and seventh person, and learning the system.”
Portland Press Herald sports reporter Drew Bonifant contributed to this story.
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